Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation imaging system and a radiography system applied to a medical imaging apparatus, a nondestructive testing apparatus, an analyzing apparatus using radiation, and the like.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a demand, in a medical field for example, for performing imaging to obtain an image with a long observed area (hereinafter, referred to as long-length imaging) to obtain an image entirely including the spine or the lower limbs or of the entire body, so that distortion and abnormality of the body of a subject can be checked. The radiation imaging system, capable of performing the long-length imaging by emitting radiation for a single time, leads to smaller amounts of body movement and radiation exposure of the subject, and thus is more preferable than a configuration of performing long-length imaging by emitting the radiation a plurality of times for the observed area divided into a plurality of sections.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-040140 discusses a radiation imaging system that can perform long-length imaging by emitting radiation for a single time, with a plurality of radiation imaging apparatuses arranged in a longitudinal direction of the long-length imaging while being partially overlapped with each other spatially, as viewed from a radiation emitting side. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-244270 discusses a supporting member with which radiation imaging apparatuses are arranged while being partially overlapped with each other spatially as viewed from the radiation emitting side.
In the radiation imaging systems discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-040140 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-244270, a plurality radiation imaging apparatuses of the same size is used therein. However, in an actual medial field, it may be difficult to prepare a plurality of radiation imaging apparatuses of the same size, and thus a plurality radiation imaging apparatuses of different sizes is used in many cases. A holding unit that holds the radiation imaging apparatuses at their proper positions is not discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-040140. A specific configuration of the holding unit that holds the radiation imaging apparatuses at their positions is not discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-244270.